The Walt Disney Co moved closer to acquiring its longtime collaborator Pixar Animation Studios last night: its board authorised CEO Robert Iger to make an offer for the animation innovator behind such global hits as the Toy Story films, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. The deal, valued at close to $7bn (£3.9bn), could be announced as early as today.

Starting with 1995's Toy Story, Disney has enjoyed a decade-long distribution deal for Pixar's six critically-acclaimed animated features, which have grossed more than $3.2bn (£1.8bn). The upcoming Cars would have been the last film distributed under this agreement.

The relationship foundered in January 2004, when Pixar broke off talks with Disney's then chief executive Michael Eisner on how to divide future profits. However, relations between current boss Iger and his Pixar counterpart Steve Jobs appear to be much friendlier.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Disney is considering an all-stock offer, which would make Pixar boss Jobs, who is also CEO of Apple Computer Inc, its largest individual shareholder and give him a seat on the Disney board. Analysts are already speculating that the deal would put Jobs in the prime position to spearhead Hollywood's move onto the web.

For decades, Disney was the undisputed world leader in hand-drawn animated features, with films ranging from Snow White to The Lion King. However, it had seen its pre-eminence slip in the age of the computer-generated features.